Christianity ————-
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(Transhumanism, Aliens/UFOs, Occult, Conspiracies) ————-
(Nazis, Communism, Crusades, Morality / Ethics, Abortion, Rape, Homosexuality / Trans, Audio, Books, Debates, Videos, etc.)
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Month: September 2016
Angels in the apocryphal text 2 Esdras
Herein we continued, from part 1, a series regarding paranormal entities in text generally termed the Apocrypha, Deutero Canonical, Pseudepigrapha, Gnostic Texts, etc. (see my article on the Apocrypha here). The quotations are of those sections within the text that refer to Angels, Cherubim, Seraphim, Devil, Satan, demons, serpent and dragon. The point is not to elucidate these references but to provide relevant partial quotations and citations.
Angels in the apocryphal text 2 Esdras / Ezra aka 4 Esdras aka Latin Esdras: 70 AD.
1:19 I pitied your groanings and gave you manna for food; you ate the bread of Angels.
2:43-48 In their midst was a young man of great stature, taller than any of the others, and on the head of each of them he placed a crown, but he was more exalted than they. And I was held spellbound. Then I asked an Angel, “Who are these, my lord?” He answered and said to me, “These are they who have put off mortal clothing and have put on the immortal, and they have confessed the name of God; now they are being crowned, and receive palms.” Then I said to the Angel, “Who is that young man who places crowns on them and puts palms in their hands?” He answered and said to me, “He is the Son of God, whom they confessed in the world.” So I began to praise those who had stood valiantly for the name of the Lord.
Then the Angel said to me, “Go, tell my people how great and many are the wonders of the Lord God which you have seen.”
4:1-4 Then the Angel that had been sent to me, whose name was Uriel, answered and said to me, “Your understanding has utterly failed regarding this world, and do you think you can comprehend the way of the Most High?” Then I said, “Yes, my lord.”
And he replied to me, “I have been sent to show you three ways, and to put before you three problems. If you can solve one of them for me, I also will show you the way you desire to see, and will teach you why the heart is evil.”
4:36-37 And Jeremiel the Archangel answered them and said, ‘When the number of those like yourselves is completed; for he has weighed the age in the balance, and measured the times by measure, and numbered the times by number; and he will not move or arouse them until that measure is fulfilled.'”
5:15, 20, 31-32 But the Angel who had come and talked with me held me and strengthened me and set me on my feet…So I fasted seven days, mourning and weeping, as Uriel the Angel had commanded me…When I had spoken these words, the Angel who had come to me on a previous night was sent to me, and he said to me, “Listen to me, and I will instruct you; pay attention to me, and I will tell you more.”
6:1, 3 And he said to me, “At the beginning of the circle of the Earth…and before the innumerable hosts of Angels were gathered together…
7:1-2, 85, 95 When I had finished speaking these words, the Angel who had been sent to me on the former nights was sent to me again, and he said to me, “Rise, Ezra, and listen to the words that I have come to speak to you”… The fifth way, they shall see how the habitations of the others are guarded by Angels in profound quiet…
The fourth order, they understand the rest which they now enjoy, being gathered into their chambers and guarded by Angels in profound quiet, and the glory which awaits them in the last days.
8:19-22 The beginning of the words of Ezra’s prayer, before he was taken up. He said: “O Lord who inhabitest eternity, whose eyes are exalted and whose upper chambers are in the air, whose throne is beyond measure and whose glory is beyond comprehension, before whom the hosts of Angels stand trembling and at whose command they are changed to wind and fire…
10:28-31 “Where is the Angel Uriel, who came to me at first? For it was he who brought me into this overpowering bewilderment; my end has become corruption, and my prayer a reproach.” As I was speaking these words, behold, the Angel who had come to me at first came to me, and he looked upon me; and behold, I lay there like a corpse and I was deprived of my understanding. Then he grasped my right hand and strengthened me and set me on my feet, and said to me, “What is the matter with you? And why are you troubled? And why are your understanding and the thoughts of your mind troubled?”
12:51 But I sat in the field seven days, as the Angel had commanded me; and I ate only of the flowers of the field, and my food was of plants during those days.
16:66 What will you do? Or how will you hide your sins before God and his Angels?
In the next segment, we will consider the books of Maccabees.
Discussion with a serpent seed of Satan theorist
Having performed a fair amount of research into the serpent seed of Satan theory—which proposes that Satan had sex with Eve and so Cain is the literal son of Satan and his bloodline / seedline carries satanic DNA—I reached out to some serpent seed of Satan theorists in order to attempt to interact with them; here is one of their stories.
In this case, the serpent seed of Satan theorist had approvingly discussed the issue with one of the main pop-level proponents of the theory namely, Zen Garcia. The discussion, which either ended or stalled for now, went thusly (I will refer to the Serpent Seed of Satan Theorist as SSST.
Ken:
I am writing with regards to your video on the lost tribes and seed of the woman/seed of the serpent with Zen Garcia. I thought to write this message so as to not spam your comment section. In case it may be of interest to you: I wrote two detailed replies to Zen within the following articles. These are based on actual interaction I had with him:
SSST:
Thank you Ken for forwarding me your article about the serpent seed and Zen. I found Zen and his work on line after I had started to see the same thing in the scriptures. We had reached similar conclusions but via different paths. As referenced in 1 Corinth 13:1 one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to lead one into “all prophecy, mysteries and knowledge”. The serpent seed doctrine is couched in the scriptures (the 66 book canon) as a “mystery” but when people learn how to be taught and led of the Spirit it really becomes quite evident. I thank you that your tone has been relatively civil and respectful as this is not a “salvation” issue but just one of deeper understanding. When Jesus said he was going to speak to the people in parables He wasn’t kidding. Matt 13:11 Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. The “them” are people whose hearts had become dull of hearing and understanding. The one parable he did explain was the one about the “wheat and the tares” and He makes it quite clear that the wicked one has “seed” which is the word Zera which absolutely means “genetic offspring by sexual relations”. Over the years in my research in understanding the parabolic language I am more convinced than ever that the “emniity/hatred” between the two seedlines is a major part of the whole whole Bible and story of salvation. The genetics of mankind was first infiltrated in the fall when Eve became the mother of the 1st hybrid race and the mix and mingling of the seedlines has been going on ever since. Understanding this makes the new birth and the cleansing we can receive by the blood of the Lamb so amazing. This knowledge is meant to really come out now at the end of the age. This is what is referenced by the “iron and clay mixing” that Daniel speaks of.
Yashua [Jesus] gives us a free offer of a new DNA that will last forever … how anyone could refuse this and still retain “the mark of the beast” mystifies me. So as you can see Zen and I are in agreement on this doctrine and i will continue to teach it more and more in my upcoming videos, I do believe that my major gifting is to understand mysteries and the parabolic language. Jesus said that in the last days everything hidden would be revealed. Shalom and blessings to you in Yashua’s name.
Ken:
Thanks for the reply. I approached Zen accepting the fact that he has conducted a lot of research and has written various books on this and similar topics: I did not take him or his claims lightly and sought to be fair and reply to his every claim (claims he made to me personally). In the articles for which I sent links, and others, I considered every serpent seed proof text of which I am aware so you will, at least, see my way of looking at the topic. One thing that I would urge you to consider is that words derive their meaning, primarily, from context. In the case of Matthew 13, it is clear that the wicked one’s seed are those who perform actions commensurate to wickedness and has nothing to do with genetics. Also, please consider that just because there are mysteries and parabolic language which are revealed does not mean that the serpent seed theory is one of them.
May I ask, to get your take on it: what will become of people of the hybrid people of Satanic mix with human genetics?
SSST:
Want to answer your question…what will become of people of the hybrid people of Satanic mix with human genetics? “All those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:13. What Paul saw was this “door to the gentiles” that salvation was being offered even to the gentiles/ beasts/ mixed multitudes.
All things work together for good…all the dispersions/exiles of Israel worked to mix their genetics with the nations till like Yahweh promised Abraham every “nuclear family/clan” would be blessed thru him. Praise Adonai. [ellipses in original]
Ken:
Most excellent, I am glad to hear (or, read) your take on that since well, of course, serpent seed of Satan theorists come in all forms and many seem to just place anyone whom they personally dislike within the category of the Cain seed/blood line. I would love to get a reply from you in the future once you have digested the articles regarding Zen’s views and claims.
May God bless you and yours.
Well, it appears that SSST never got around to reading the articles as they have not been referenced as of yet.
SSST:
First a question. Do you take Gen 6 to refer to the Sethite line and Cainite woman or were the “Sons of God” an angelic order and human woman….which pairing in your opinion made “the mighty men.”
I replied with reference to that I did not see SSST’s reply where we were having the discussion but ran into it on Google+ and ended with:
Anyhow, angels and humans.
SSST:
If you believe angels and humans then why is it it hard to believe Satan (an angel) and Eve (a human) could also mate and create a hybrid. btw one of the archaic definitions of a hybrid is “a goat/sheep hybrid…a son of outrageous conduct.”
Ken:
Well friend, you are presupposing that I reject that Satan (who is not an angel) and Eve (a human) could mate because it is hard for me to believe. What is or is not hard for me to believe is actually not relevant. As you could see from reading my two very detailed articles replying to Zen (plus many more that I have written on the topic) it is an issue of hermeneutics. It is not that it is hard for me to believe rather, it would be easy for me to believe if it was biblical.
“a son of outrageous conduct”—I love it ;o)
Well, that is as far as it has gone thus far and based on the amount of time that has elapsed since my last reply I am unsure if it will continue; if it does, I will update this.
VIDEO: Matt Slick and Hannibal Lecter – Atheism, Satan and smarts – intelligence
Matt Slick and Hannibal Lecter – Atheism, Satan and smarts/intelligence
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Flat Earth and Christianity – Lactantius and Cosmas Indicopleustes
Herein I will consider that which Lactantius and Cosmas Indicopleustes had to say about a flat Earth. I am focusing on these two as it is them upon whom the inventors of the flat Earth myth focus. I am referring to the false claim that a flat Earth was popularly believed in, in general and was especially a Christian Bible based belief.
As I noted in my article Positive Atheism – Cliff Walker: The Flat Earth Falls Flat, the late agnostic anti-Creationist Stephen Jay Gould did some honest research debunking the myth (as a side note, also see “The Copernican Myths” and “Galileo – A Story of a Hero of Science”) and the main mythologizers were John Draper who wrote “The History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science” and Andrew Dickson White who wrote “A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom” right around the time when Darwinians needed a boost in showing how their opponents were ignorant flat Earthers—sound familiar?
LACTANTIUS
Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (240-320 AD) Divine Institutes, Book III: Of the False Wisdom of Philosophers, Chapter 3: Of What Subjects Philosophy Consists, and Who Was the Chief Founder of the Academic Sect.
This chapter sets the stage for Lactanius’ uneventful comments on the topic at hand as he states that questions such as “whether the sun is as great as it appears to be, or is many times greater than the whole of this earth; also whether the moon be spherical or concave; and whether the stars are fixed to the heaven, or are borne with free course through the air,” etc. “to wish to comprehend these things, I say, by disputation and conjectures, is as though we should wish to discuss what we may suppose to be the character of a city in some very remote country, which we have never seen, and of which we have heard nothing more than the name.”
Chapter 24 is titled, “Of the Antipodes, the Heaven, and the Stars” (as an FYI: antipode is a reference to the opposite side of the Earth).
Lactantius begins by asking “How is it with those who imagine that there are antipodes opposite to our footsteps?” and asks if they actually believe that “there are men whose footsteps are higher than their heads? Or that the things which with us are in a recumbent position, with them hang in an inverted direction? That the crops and trees grow downwards?” etc.
He then surveys “What course of argument, therefore, led them to the idea of the antipodes?” and notes that “they thought that the world is round like a ball.”
He notes that “they fancied that the heaven revolves in accordance with the motion of the heavenly bodies…they both constructed brazen orbs” as illustrations of “constellations. It followed, therefore, from this rotundity of the heaven, that the earth was enclosed in the midst of its curved surface. But if this were so, the earth also itself must be like a globe.”
He retorts, “I am at a loss what to say respecting those who, when they have once erred, consistently persevere in their folly, and defend one vain thing by another; but that I sometimes imagine that they either discuss philosophy for the sake of a jest, or purposely and knowingly undertake to defend falsehoods, as if to exercise or display their talents on false subjects.”
Thus, he does not bother replying but ends with “But I should be able to prove by many arguments that it is impossible for the heaven to be lower than the earth, were is not that this book must now be concluded, and that some things still remain, which are more necessary for the present work.”
Thus, not only does he not argue against a spherical Earth and for a flat Earth but certainly does not appeal to the Bible in either case.
COSMAS INDICOPLEUSTES
Cosmas Indicopleustes (6th c. AD) is a pseudonym for an apocryphal Greek sailor from Alexandria and second part of the “name” merely means India-voyager and he later became a monk.
In view is the text Christian Topography and he begins the Book VI-Superadded: Regarding the Size of the Sun by noting that he is writing it reply to a question which pertained to how “much greater the sun may be than the earth.”
With reference to an illustrative drawing, he sates “having drawn lines and imprinted…strengthened by the divine power, to show” and he makes reference to seeking to elucidate the size of the Sun and notes that he seeks to show those who disagree that they should “bow submissively to divine scripture.” I should point out that I am not interested in dissecting his arguments but to see if, in keeping with his reference to divine scripture he actually cites any and/or bases his arguments upon them.
He, somewhat generically, notes that “The Lord also bears me witness in the Gospels, when He calls the country of the Homerites, which is not more than a two days’ sail by sea distant from Barbaria, the ends of the earth. It is evident again that I am right from the climates which they acknowledge…from the shadows themselves which are produced in each climate, it is proved that the sun does not exceed in size two climates, nay, even that the earth is flat, as the delineation shows, and not spherical.”
One thing to note is that “climate” did not mean, as we employ the term now, a reference to weather conditions, etc. but Cosmas Indicopleustes held the view that the Earth’s surface sloped and it was this slope that was called kli’ma thus, cli-mate.
Cosmas notes, “it is proved from the account of the creation that God divided the one place which extends from the earth to the first heaven, by placing in the middle the firmament, that is, the second heaven, thus making the one place into two places” and “it is proved from the very structure of man, inasmuch as he consists of two, namely, of mortal and immortal, evidently subjecting him through their contrariety to a life of conflict, in order that he may afterwards be honoured with gifts.”
Reference to the first and second heavens says nothing of their shape (FYI: the first referring to what we term the atmosphere and the second to outer-space—with the third being God’s paranormal realm).
His reference to the “very structure of man” shows that he is employing the Bible metaphorically at this point. He continues along these lines by referencing “the two trees which grew in the midst of Paradise [the Garden of Eden], scripture shows that there are two states, one mortal and mutable, and one immortal and immutable,” “the expulsion of the man from the Garden,” and various others which make up the bulk of this section.
He ends up stating, “By all these considerations the opinion of the Christians is shown to be the best of all” in general “and in accordance and harmony with the constitution of the world, and to be most true.” Thus, he seems to be claiming that since the various and sundry topics upon which he touched regarding the “opinion of the Christians” then his opinion regarding “constitution of the world” are “most true” yet, he did not appeal to the Bible for any reference to a flat Earth.
Interestingly, he notes that “The Manichaeans, holding the same opinions as the Pagans, and supposing also the heaven to be spherical” which may or may note related to the shape of the Earth itself and yet, he is employing the example in order to point out that which he does directly following where I left off the quote with “and expecting the utter destruction of the body, these, along with their evil deity whom they elected for themselves about the earth, are condemned and driven away from the City above, which they denied” thus, this is not so much about the shape of the Earth but about resurrection, etc.
Another reference to the Bible states, “Blessed then are all those who, through the divine scriptures of the Old and New Testament, recognize the Maker of all things as one God in three Persons, namely Father and Son and Holy Spirit, a holy Trinity, consubstantial, equal in power, in strength, in glory and in honour, and without beginning” which great evidence of the doctrine of the Trinity but shows that Cosmas Indicopleustes was going far and away from dealing directly with the shape of the Earth—and, of course, in any regard his main focus was the size of the Sun.
I had noted that he was not directly focused on “the shape of the Earth but about resurrection” but he later brings the two issues together with “No religion therefore, neither the Judaic, nor the Samaritan, nor the Pagan, nor the Manichaean, believes or hopes that there is a resurrection or an ascension into heaven for men; but such of these religions as think that heaven is a sphere, namely the Pagan and the Manichaean, are consistent with themselves in holding their unbelief.”
The ties the resurrection and shape of the heavens, not necessarily of the Earth, together by rhetorically asking, “For, where are they able to find a place in the sphere for the kingdom of heaven? They are both of them therefore justified in denying the resurrection of the body, and in saying that souls only are glorified or punished after the life here—or in saying, as some of them do, that souls are whirled round along with the sphere and see all things, or are condemned to be cast into Tartarus.”
Thus, Cosmas Indicopleustes seems to, for some reason, think that a resurrection can only truly occur if we move from a flat Earth to a flat heaven—in a manner of speaking as that will keep the souls of the dead from (aimlessly?) whirling around the sphere.
He makes other references to the Bible thusly, “divine scripture, in which there is the power of God, saying to them: For, in the resurrection, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” so that, again, he is not focused on the shape of the Earth.
He finally gets around to, literally, connecting the heavens and the Earth by noting “The heaven is bound together with the earth, and is divided into parts, for as it forms the two vaulted chambers and the two walls on each side, and after the manner of vaulted chambers has one of these walls curving round till it joins the other, and completes the entire figure (to_ sxh~ma) [sorry but I have no idea what the parenthetical statement means] of the world.”
He does not reference the Bible at this point for support and then get back to his original point on “the rays of the sun falling upon bodies produce shadows for each climate.”
Comas lived in the 6th c. AD: this is an illustration of his cosmology the
11th c. Codex Sinaiticus graecus 1186, folio 69r
Thus, his argument for the size of the Sun and by a very long extension the shape of the Earth is in no way directly claimed to come from the Bible and he has to engage in much metaphorical speculation to even reference the Bible.
The preface to the online edition of Cosmas Indicopleustes’ Christian Topography notes that “It advances the idea that the world is flat, and that the heavens form the shape of a box with a curved lid. The author cites passages of scripture which he distorts wildly in order to support his thesis, and attempts to argue down the idea of a spherical earth by stigmatizing it as ‘pagan.’ The approach to scripture is discreditable, and the conclusion made simply wrong.”
Directly to our context, the preface also notes that “The book is often cited as evidence that Christianity introduced the idea of the flat-earth into the world, and brought in the age of ignorance. This is hardly fair, since Cosmas does not represent a mainstream of any kind, personally or spiritually. The latter pages of his work are devoted to rebutting the criticism of his fellow-monks, that what he was saying was wrong.” In other words, directly after distorting the Bible, he was called to task and his views are only known because of those who “cited as evidence that Christianity introduced the idea of the flat-earth into the world” which brings us full circle.
It is also noted that “Christian writers of this” flat Earth “school” of which the only other one noted is Lactantius “turned to scripture to illustrate their theme, but their methods of exegesis attracted severe criticism from other Christian authors such as Photius.”
Book of Jubilees on the Nephilim
The Book of Jubilees aka Lesser Genesis / Leptogenesis dates to circa 200 or 100 BC.
Let us consult the 1917 AD translation by R. H. Charles’s section “The Patriarchs from Adam to Noah (cf. Gen. v.); Life of Enoch; Death of Adam and Gain (iv. 13-33).”
We will pick up at the mention of Jared whose name means “descent” and who was named thus because, as the text states:
…for in his days the angels of the Lord descended on the earth [1], those who are named the Watchers, that they should instruct the children of men [2], and that they should do judgment and uprightness on the earth…Jared took to himself a wife…and she bare him a son…and he called his name Enoch…he testified to the Watchers, who had sinned with the daughters of men; for these had begun to unite themselves, so as to be defiled, with the daughters of men, and Enoch testified against (them) all.
Footnotes:
Let us begin with [2] so that we may expand upon [1] below:
This statement is interesting. It describes what was probably the original commission by God to the angelic watchers, who, however, fell when they descended to the earth. According to 1 Enoch, Enoch acquired his supernatural knowledge from the instruction of angels.
[1]
This last line looks like a quotation from 1 Enoch vi. 6 (“who descended in the days of Jared”). Note the play in Hebrew on the name Jared (yāred) and “descended” (Heb. yārĕdû). The myth of the descent of the angels was based on Gen. vi. 1-4, but was rejected by the Rabbis, who rendered “sons of God” (i. e. angels) “sons of the judges.”
Latter Rabbinic commentaries by misinterpret the sons of God as sons of judges but the earliest view of Jewish and Christian commentators is that they were Angels.
In fact, R. H. Charles’s The Book of Jubilees’ section “The Fall of the Angels and their Punishment; the Deluge foretold (v. 1-20; cf. Gen. vi. 1-12)” states:
And it came to pass when the children of men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, that the angels of God [1]4 saw them on a certain year of this jubilee, that they were beautiful to look upon; and they took themselves wives of all whom they chose, and they bare unto them sons and they were giants.
And lawlessness increased on the earth and all flesh corrupted its way, alike men and cattle and beasts and birds and everything that walketh on the earth-all of them corrupted their ways and their orders, and they began to devour 3 each other, and lawlessness increased on the earth and every imagination of the thoughts of all men (was) thus evil continually…
The footnote [1] here states, “This is the LXX rendering of Gen, vi. 2 (R.V. “sons of God”) and represents the older Jewish exegesis, which was later given up.”
Section “Noah offers Sacrifice; the Cursing of Canaan (cf. Gen. ix. 20-28): Noah’s Sons and Grandsons (cf. Gen. x.) and their Cities. Noah’s Admonitions (vii. 1-39)” states:
Noah began to enjoin upon his sons’ sons the ordinances and commandments, and all the judgments that he knew, and he exhorted his sons to observe righteousness, and to cover the shame of their flesh, and to bless their Creator, and honour father and mother, and love their neighbour, and guard their souls from fornication and uncleanness and all iniquity.
For owing to these three things came the flood upon the earth, namely, owing to the fornication wherein the Watchers against the law of their ordinances went a whoring after the daughters of men, and took themselves wives of all which they chose: and they made the beginning of uncleanness. And they begat sons the Nâphîdîm, and they were all unlike, and they devoured one another: and the Giants slew the Nâphîl, and the Nâphîl slew the Eljô, and the Eljô mankind, and one man another. And every one sold himself to work iniquity and to shed much blood, and the earth was filled with iniquity. And after this they sinned against the beasts and birds, and all that moveth and walketh on the earth: and much blood was shed on the earth, and every imagination and desire of men imagined vanity and evil continually.
And the Lord destroyed everything from off the face of the earth; because of the wickedness of their deeds, and because of the blood which they had shed in the midst of the earth He destroyed everything.
These statements mirror many made within the apocryphal Book of Enoch aka 1 Enoch aka Ethiopic Enoch (see here) chap 7:5 & 9:1, 9.
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Origin of Watchers – who are the apkallu?
We continue considering a paper written by Estonia’s University of Tartu’s Amar Annus, “On the Origin of Watchers: A Comparative Study of the Antediluvian Wisdom in Mesopotamian and Jewish Traditions,” Journal for the study of the Pseudepigrapha, Vol 19.4 (2010 AD): 277-320 (find my series here).
To the specific point about the apkallu which are known as “Mesopotamian primordial sages (apkallu in Akkadian)” whom the “Jewish authors systematically discredited” much as they did the
Watchers and Nephilim. These beings “were occasionally envisaged as evil beings at least in some Mesopotamian theological quarters, and to inhabit the netherworld.” Amar Annus notes:
…the Mesopotamian apkallus were demonized as the ‘sons of God’, and their sons Nephilim (Gen. 6.3-4), who in later Enochic literature appear as Watchers and giants, illegitimate teachers of humankind before the flood (see 1 En.6–8)…many kinds of Mesopotamian sciences and technologies were ideologically conceived as originating with antediluvian apkallus.
The concept of transference of technology, from cutting roots to making weapons and from astrology to abortion, is specified in the Book of Enoch.
Hellenistic-era Babylonian writer Berossus is noted to have recorded that “Oannes and other sages taught all foundations of civilization to antediluvian humankind” which is a common theme in ancient myth and legend. Berossus’s fragment 1 states:
In the first year a beast named Oannes appeared from the Erythrean Sea in a place adjacent to Babylonia. Its entire body was that of a fish, but a human head had grown beneath the head of the fish and human feet likewise had grown from the fish’s tail. It also had a human voice. A picture of it is still preserved today.
He says that this beast spent the days with the men but ate no food. It gave to the men the knowledge of letters and sciences and crafts of all types. It also taught them how to found cities, establish temples, introduce laws and measure land. It also revealed to them seeds and the gathering of fruits, and in general it gave men everything which is connected with the civilized life. From the time of that beast nothing further has been discovered.
But when the sun set this beast Oannes plunged back into the sea and spent the nights in the deep, for it was amphibious. Later other beasts also appeared…He says that these creatures all together explained in detail the things which had been spoken summarily by Oannes [ellipses in Annus’ paper]
I previously considered the Oannes tale (or is it tail?) within the context of Robert K. G. Temple’s Sirius Mystery book, see Dagon and the Dogon: Serious Sirius mystery – Nommo and Oannes.
Note that “Figurines of apkallus were buried in boxes as foundation deposits in Mesopotamian buildings in order to avert evil from the house. The term massare, ‘watchers’, is used of these sets of figurines in Akkadian incantations according to ritual texts. This appellation matches the Aramaic term ‘yryn, ‘the wakeful ones’, for both good angels and the Watchers.”
Sarah J. Denning-Bolle pointed out that “the fish-apkallu is ‘linked with the secrets that dwell in the deep; and its neverclosing, ever-watchful eyes lend it an omniscient sagacity’” (Wisdom in Akkadian Literature: Expression, Instruction, Dialogue, Ex Oriente Lux, 1992 AD).
Thus, Oannes’ relation to fish may have nothing to do with hybridization and being an ever-watcher but were manners whereby to denote a concept symbolically.
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Julius Africanus on the Nephilim
Sextus Julius Africanus (160-240 AD) is perhaps the first to radically reinterpret and misinterpret the Genesis 6 affair as pertaining to what has come to be known as the Sethite view which claims that the “sons of God” are the godly lineage of Seth (why only males and why all godly?) and the “daughters of men” are the ungodly lineage of Cain (why only females and why all ungodly?).
As for example chronicled in section II of The Extant Fragments of the Five Books of the Chronography of Julius Africanus, he wrote:
When men multiplied on the earth, the angels of heaven came together with the daughters of men. In some copies I found “the sons of God.” What is meant by the Spirit, in my opinion, is that the descendants of Seth are called the sons of God on account of the righteous men and patriarchs who have sprung from him, even down to the Saviour Himself; but that the descendants of Cain are named the seed of men, as having nothing divine in them, on account of the wickedness of their race and the inequality of their nature, being a mixed people, and having stirred the indignation of God.
At this point, a footnote states, “The text here is manifestly corrupt: e0pimixqe/ntwn au\tw=n, th\n a0gana/kthsin poih/sasqai to\n Qeo/n” to which I will say, whatever that means.
In any case, note that Julius Africanus’ claims are “in my opinion” and he provides no biblical backing for his opinion that from the descendants of Seth, apparently exclusively, righteous men and patriarchs sprung but the descendants of Cain, apparently exclusively, have nothing divine in them. In fact, we do not know that they, in general and as a lineage “stirred the indignation of God” but know only that Cain did so.
Julius Africanus ends this section thusly:
But if it is thought that these refer to angels, we must take them to be those who deal with magic and jugglery, who taught the women the motions of the stars and the knowledge of things celestial, by whose power they conceived the giants as their children, by whom wickedness came to its height on the earth, until God decreed that the whole race of the living should perish in their impiety by the deluge.
Thus, he was clearly aware of the common understanding of Genesis 6 and even touches upon extra biblical claims about the actions of these Angels as the Bible does not relate what they taught but apocryphal works, such as the Book of Enoch do.
Note just how the times, and personal opinions, have changed to the extent that Africanus can, in his time, note that “it is thought that these refer to angels” but in 1831 AD Adam Clarke (Commentary on the Bible) notes that, in his time, “there is a distinction made here between men and those called the sons of God, it is generally supposed that the immediate posterity of Cain and that of Seth are intended. The first were mere men, such as fallen nature may produce, degenerate sons of a degenerate father, governed by the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, and the pride of life. The others were sons of God, not angels, as some have dreamed, but such as were, according to our Lord’s doctrine, born again, born from above.” Clarke offers no elucidating data from the Bible’s contents, concepts and contexts but merely refers to the original and thus ancient interpretation as being something dreamed up.
The Book of the Secrets of Enoch on the Nephilim
The Book of the Secrets of Enoch is one of the many apocryphal books of Enoch.
The text is thought to have originally been Slavonic dating to the early Christian era and has been known only from a Russian version from fragmentary manuscripts found in Russia and Servia.
Chap 18 is titled, “Of the taking of Enoch on to the fifth heaven” and states, in part:
And they said to me: These are the Grigori, who with their prince Satanail rejected the Lord of light, and after them are those who are held in great darkness on the second heaven, and three of them went down on to earth from the Lord’s throne, to the place Ermon, and broke through their vows on the shoulder of the hill Ermon and saw the daughters of men how good they are, and took to themselves wives, and befouled the earth with their deeds, who in all times of their age made lawlessness and mixing, and giants are born and marvellous big men and great enmity.
FYI: Grigori is an aka for the Watchers which is that which 1 Enoch aka Ethiopic Enoch aka generically the Book of Enoch terms the sons of God from the Genesis 6 affair.
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